USS Amberjack, a 1525-ton Gato class submarine, was built at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned in June 1942, she went to the Pacific a month later and began her first war patrol in September. Operating in the vicinity of New Ireland, which had become very active due to the battle for Guadalcanal further to the south, she made several attacks on Japanese warships and logistics shipping. The large aircraft ferry Tonan Maru II (a former whale factory ship) was sunk in shallow water, though later salvaged, and two cargo ships were sent to the bottom permanently. Before her patrol ended at Brisbane, Australia, in late October, Amberjack also conducted valuable reconnaissance work and transported badly-needed weapons and personnel to the Guadalcanal area.
The submarine's second patrol, starting in mid-November 1942, covered the waters near Bougainville. Though Amberjack attacked Japanese destroyers on two occasions, one of which resulted in a serious depth-charge counterattack, an enemy submarine and a convoy, no hits were made. Her return to Brisbane in mid-January 1943 was followed by an abbreviated refit. Solomons area combat operations required the presence of every available submarine, so she was sent back to sea later in the month, headed for the Bougainville-New Ireland area. By radio, she reported having sunk a freighter early in February and checked in again on the 14th. USS Amberjack was not heard from again and was officially presumed sunk when she failed to return to port. Seventy-four officers and men were lost with her.
This page features our only view of USS Amberjack (SS-219).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
In addition to the images presented above, the National Archives appears to hold at least one other view of USS Amberjack (SS-219). The following list features this image:
The image listed below is NOT in the
Naval Historical Center's collections.
DO NOT try to obtain it using the procedures described in our
page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions".
USS Amberjack (SS-219) at rest in the Thames River off the Electric Boat Company shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, 30 May 1942. Port broadside surface view.
Reproductions of this image should be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system for pictures not held by the Naval Historical Center. The image listed in this box is NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections. DO NOT try to obtain it using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions". |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 27 May 2003